Ugly Betty sure is moving up in the world.
America Ferrera, the actress who plays the eponymous character on the hit US TV show, has dabbled in movies before, as fans of the Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants franchise will know. But with her latest, American Tragic, she’s pulling double-duty as star and executive producer.
OK, OK, so she’s been an executive producer before, on the Spanish-language flicks Muertas and Towards Darkness, but American Tragic could be the film that shows there’s a lot more to her than glossy, high-camp comedy, braces and glasses.
As you might gather from its title, it won’t be a knockabout sex comedy. Instead, it will focus on a young war veteran (newcomer Ryan O’Nan), who goes on a cross-country trip in an attempt to find redemption. Ferrera will play his wife, while Melissa Leo will play his mother.
Ryan Piers Williams will direct from his own script, while Latino mini-studio Maya Entertainment, will produce and distribute.
Filming is scheduled to start in New Mexico in February, with a release currently pencilled in for autumn of next year. Could an Oscar-qualifying run be on the cards…?